Markiplier vs Darkiplier
by IntergalacticWriter
Summary: Markiplier was able to return to his YouTuber life, but things have changed. He still can't figure it out completely but Hawk is right there to help him. What Hawk sensed before, from deep down in Mark's soul, has surfaced. Hawk wants to help, but this is Mark's internal battle. Soon they'll both learn that there's more to a person's dark side than previously thought.
1. Chapter 1

"There is no Light without a Dark"

A long day of recording Five Nights at Freddy's and mostly failing deserved a nice long sleep. Mark walked into his room and changed into his logo pajama pants. He made his way into the bathroom, turned on the light and leaned on the counter.

He looked at his reflection and swore he saw dark circles around his eyes, but when he blinked, they were gone. He proceeded to take off his glasses and wash his face, thinking nothing of it. Thinking maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him from all those horror games.

After wiping off his face he turned off the light and climbed into bed. He reached for his Tiny Box Tim plushie, cuddled it, put his glasses on the night stand and turned off the light. Left in the dark, and his thoughts, Mark tried to sleep.

In his dream, he quickly identified the security screen of Five Nights at Freddy's. He didn't dare look up from the screen. Instead he looked at the difference screens recording the different areas of the building. Pirate's Cove hadn't moved. Ducky was in her place, as were the others.

"They won't move, Mark." He heard his voice speak to him.

Mark looked up and froze. He was looking at himself, but red eyes instead of brown.

"They're scared of me." He continued. "And they should be."

"Who are you?" Mark asked after a moment of silence.

"I am you," He replied, cocking his head to one side, smiling. "But I'm Dark, the dark version of you." He leaned back onto the table the phone sat on. "But I'm not the worst one." Dark looked at the door on the left.

Mark couldn't move. The lights shut off and the sounds of power fell silent. All Mark could do is stare at the empty, dark doorway until the all too familiar theme song started playing in sync to the blinking eyes of Foxy.

Dark stared through the doorway as well, but was free to move. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down. He let out a partial laugh. "Come on, if you want to scare him, scare him." He spoke over the theme song that soon morphed into a demented skipping song.

Unable to move, Mark watched as the white lights of the face turned black with red pupils and the smile turned into a much scarier smile. The eyes blinked at him.

Stepping into the room, this form, this version of Mark held the head of Freddie himself. The head had been brutally ripped off by this version of Mark. Oil was dripping from wires and all over his hands like it had just been done.

This version of Mark spoke with a very deep, scary voice. It was a tone that Mark hadn't been able to make himself.

"Hello, Mark." He faced Mark and held onto the head. "You've met my friend, Dark. And he's right. I'm the one that should scare you."

The theme song slowly played again. Dark left the room and was soon followed by the Mark carrying Freddy's head.

Left in the dark once more, Mark's head was forcibly turned to the door and couldn't move as the theme song played at normal speed. Foxy's face lit up and blinked with the song, which was over quickly.

Mark knew what was next in the darkness. A loud metallic screech and then game over.

The silence seemed never-ending. Each tense moment passed slower than the previous.

"Run!" Foxy's screech echoed around the room and he turned from the doorway then ran back down the hall.

Mark sprung up in his bed. His arm wrapped around his little biscuit and he fumbled around for the light switch. He sat in bed and tried to calm down. He leaned on his arm and breathed until his heart rate dropped back down.

"Maybe I played that game too much," he tried to reason with himself.

He took a deep breath and relaxed into the comfort of his bed covers. Holding Tim tight to his chest, he rolled onto his side and tried to sleep again.

He was successful in finding unconsciousness, but he wasn't alone.

This dream let him look up at the ceiling. He glanced around and identified the fire place, green chair and dark red wall paper from Amnesia. He moved like the character did in the game, smoothly in an unrealistic reality.

The fire place brightened up the room enough so Mark could locate the lantern on the table. He picked up the oil as well, out of habit.

Each step towards the door was one Mark didn't want to take. Through many of the games, he knew the endings, how the game worked and what to expect.

But like the last nightmare, he couldn't simply wake up and get out of it. He had to play the game. He stared at the door and the soft glow of the fire was blown out by the wind rushing through it as is slowly opened.

Mark held up the lantern to light his path. He took a last glance around the room, he usually forgets something.

He spotted a small wooden box in the corner of the room by the foot of the dresser by the bed.

"Tim!" He rushed over and picked up the small item. As he held the small box, its eyes opened to reveal large blue eyes. A small smile formed below the eyes.

"I'll protect you Mark." Tim said in a quiet but affirmative voice. His little arms had stubby hands on the end that reached out for Mark's face.

Mark held him close and curled him in his arm to carry him safely. Mark knew he could move on now so he left the room and entered the dark hallway. One way led to a dead end, the other branched off into the rest of the mansion. He held his lantern up and walked down the dark hallway.

The walls displayed pictures of scratched faces. Something had scratched them. The frame had marks on it too, from whatever did that.

"Keep moving," Tim whispered, making Marks arm tighten around him. Tim put his little hands on Mark's and looked ahead into the darkness then hid behind his hand.

Mark looked away from the painting and down the hall. Something moved from one side to the other. He took a step back and his leg hit a chair that slammed into the wall. The impact echoed down the hall. He let out a startled scream and stood still.

"Be quiet. You don't want them to find you." Tim said a bit louder.

Actually being in the game was very different from just playing. Mark usually jumps from his own shadow or screams until the thing goes away. He couldn't do that here. They could hear him from across the mansion. They could find him. Whoever they were.

When the mansion was silent once more, Mark moved again and stopped where the object moved. He turned to where it came from. He saw what Foxy just told him in his other nightmare.

It was written on the wall. It looked like it was written in blood. It dripped down the wall and pooled on the floor.

"What am I running from?" Mark wondered out loud. He turned around and bumped into something. He jumped back and stared at the golden mannequin that had moved in right behind him. He almost let out another scream. But it didn't move. Mark didn't want it to. He didn't take his eyes off it as he moved passed.

He turned tensely into the big room. The middle of the second floor had the staircase reaching down to the first floor and faced the pair of giant wood and steel doors. A lightning flash lit up the room and revealed a fox-like statue in the corner. It was standing up.

Mark moved again, bumped into the mannequin again and stepped back several feet, desperately suppressing the muffled scream of fear.

The face now had red eyes and the cruel smile from before.

Metallic screeching came from the corner as the fox ran passed Mark only to be thrown by the mannequin into the wall and onto the ground, never to move again.

"Finally," The voice spoke from the mannequin through his sharp teeth.

Mark froze, barely feeling Tim tug at his fingers. His fear of mannequins struck him more now than before. Mark backed up and tripped on the table, falling onto it and shattering it into long awkward, sharp pieces. Tim flew from his hands and landed somewhere in the darkness.

He looked out into the living room from where he lay. He tried not to scream as a sharp stabbing pain emanated from his lower back. He felt a pool of warm liquid grow on the ground by this pain. He barely held back the scream he desperately wanted to release.

A bright glow swallowed the darkness, causing the mannequin to shield his eyes. Mark could barely move and couldn't react when two feet thundered into their spot behind him.

"You have part of a table sticking out of your back." The strong voice said. Mark felt his hand on his shoulder, next came the yank but no pain followed. "Stand up." This man said, practically picking up Mark.

Mark stood next to this new version of himself. The pink caped hero stood beside him, partially supporting him. His hand held onto Mark's back where the wood was pulled from. Slowly the pain went away.

"Where were you hiding?" The mannequin shouted, distracting the man from his work.

He let go of Mark and let him balance on his own. Stepping forward, he landed hard on the ground causing the room to shake. The new Mark swung the wood he pulled from Mark and threw the mannequin into the wall.

He turned to Mark and let Mark look at him. "I am the Hero within you. Heroplier, i guess. But you can call me Hero." Mark looked at Hero's outfit of a skin tight black outfit covering all of him up to his neck. The cape matched the boots, and stereo typical superhero underwear on the outside of his pants. The warfshache had been placed on his chest.

"Yes, the warfstache is our hero logo." Hero commented.

"Like on my pants," Mark said, lifting one leg to show him.

"You aren't wearing pants, Mark." Hero told him.

"This IS a nightmare!" Mark yelled.

"Mark, be quiet!" Tiny Box Tim spoke from behind Hero's boot. Hero picked him up and held him out to Mark.

"You need him more than I do." Hero handed over the caped box to Mark who tucked him away like before.

Hero braced himself and lunged behind Mark, stopping the attack that Mark was pushed from. Mark turned around and saw Hero holding the arms of the mannequin, braced where they had almost hit Mark.

Mark watched as Hero look back at him; he watched his face drop as Mark's arms were grabbed and twisted behind him. He was shoved to the ground and Tim was kicked out of his hand. Mark let out a scream as this figure yanked him to the floor, pinning him there with a chain looped through the floor.

This figure moved around Mark and faced him. Mark looked up at the white pupils in the black iris with normal eyes engulfed in a black circles surrounded by a dark haze. Dark's smile didn't quite match the one on the mannequin.

Lightning flashed through the windows again, lighting up the scene. Rain soon followed. It pounded on the glass, threatening to break it.

Hero swung his arm over the mannequin's neck and ripped the helmet off and it fell to the floor.

"I'm done with that anyway," Dark said as he waved his arm, moving the mannequin across the room. Dark looked down at Mark, "I'm your worst nightmare, Mark, but I'm not the worst one here."

Hero walked over to stand next to Mark. A growl came from Dark. He looked down at his stomach then up at Mark. A cruel smile spread across his teeth, "If you weren't always hungry," Dark lifted his white shirt. "He wouldn't exist." As he lifted the shirt, he revealed a demonic smile of sharp teeth that opened slightly, letting the pointed tongue slither through then receded back inside. The teeth shut and Dark put his shirt down.

Dark kept his eyes on Mark. The haze around his eyes flowed out into the air. Hero put his hand on Mark's shoulder, enabling him to stand and move behind Hero.

"I'm not here for you," Dark said, tilting his head. "I'm here for him."

"You'll have to go through us!" A cute voice said from another version of Mark. The bright blue eyes were still there but the rest mimicked Hero, like a side kick. He was shorter as well.

Another flash of lighting shot across the window.

"Okay," Dark said nonchalantly from behind Mark.

Hero looked back, shocked, and Tim jumped forward, landing between Dark and Mark. Dark shoved his darkness engulfed hand through Tim's chest. Tim let out a sound that echoed the agonizing pain shooting through his core. Dark's hand came out through Tim's back and he threw Tim to the other side of the room. His body landed on big wooden boxes, breaking them and leaving the shattered remains to cover the body.

"Tim!" Hero cried.

"No!" Mark screamed helplessly from where he was chained to the floor. He arched his back to see where Tim fell. He turned to Hero with sadness written all over his face.

"One down," Dark taunted, holding his hand up to Mark's face. "One to go."

Hero continued to separate Mark from Dark. Dark was ready to strike but he backed off a moment later.

Dark didn't take his eyes off Mark, "I will get you." His voice faded with his body.

A few moments of silence passed before Dark's voice came again from the second floor by the stairs. "We will get you." He said loudly and several demonic smiles moved on all the walls, including the ceiling and floor.

Hero didn't move. Neither did Tim. Mark looked around the best he could to look at Dark. "What do you want from me?" He yelled as the chains tightened, pressing his face into the floor.

Dark's eyes landed on him, he smiled and jumped from the railing, hovered near Mark and pulled him from the chain. He dropped Mark onto his back and pointed at his chest, standing over him. "Your soul," Dark said as his black haze engulfed Mark. The last thing he saw was Hero walking over to Tim.


	2. Chapter 2

OC Brief Bio:

Name: Hawk

Gender: Female

Age: Approx. 20 years old

Role in the universe: Hawk is a high ranking agent of the Intergalactic Space Force due to her early and accelerated training at a young age. She's only twenty but leads the ISF as Chief and openly works with the Council for major decisions until she can do that on her own. She works with the element Life and her powers can only grow stronger. The Demonic Aura she still has is left over from her Apprenticeship* days of being a vessel to a demon. A vessel is someone who has a demon sealed inside them (Like Naruto is to the Nine Tailed Fox). In her third year of high school, the seal failed and she had no choice but to release the demon. She can use the power that remains and loves to use this power, mostly to mess with people. She also has an affinity for technology. The phone mentioned (in part 3 of the story but part 6 here) is one she designed and made herself back in the beginning.

(Because it is mentioned but not actually written yet) The prequel fanfic story line: Basically, Hawk saves Mark from some off track aliens who try to take him or something. The Log Entry for that day is a bit scrambled. It clearly says, though, that she gave him some powers, one of them is the wings. The other is the metal plate on his floor that creates a barrier to protect him from non-humans.

*An Apprenticeship is what Hawk went through during her training. I'm working on the series about her apprenticeship.

Mark heaved for air and spasmed to get up then realized he was in his own bed again. He reached around in the darkness, feeling for his little biscuit. He found him and held Tim. Mark looked up into the darkness. The glow from the never sleeping city he lived in came into his room through the edges of his curtains, allowing for a bit of light to flow through. A silent moment passed before he turned on the light.

"I don't think sleep is a good idea anymore," Mark told himself as he sat up, debating if he should go make some tea to calm himself down.

He moved the covers off him and he was still wearing his pajama pants. He put on his black and red flannel, left it unbuttoned, put on his glasses and carried Tiny Box Tim with him to the kitchen.

Mark turned on the light, making the whole room light up. He glanced at the clock.

"3 AM isn't too bad." He mumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair, making it fluffy and the sweat made it stay that way. He put water in the kettle and put it on its heating thing and turned it on. He opened the cabinet and reached for a mug.

His arm completely missed. He sighed heavily. "Not this again." He moved to get the mug and it spun away from his fingers. He swung his arm and slapped another mug into the side of the cabinet and managed to pick it up. He moved to put it on the counter. The mug spun on its base and almost didn't land right.

"Stupid game." Mark mumbled as he moved for the tea in another cabinet. He glared at the tea bags as his arm kept missing and swinging some other way. After a few tries he got a tea bag and got it into the mug.

The water started to heat up. Mark waited a few minutes longer for the water to be hot enough to drink. He picked up the mug, barely, and moved it to the kettle and put it down. The tea kettle worked for him and he got his tea.

He sighed softly and took the mug with him to the couch and sat down in the corner. He curled up under some blankets and nestled Tim by his chest. He put the mug over the blanket and on his lap.

Mark closed his eyes and listened for movements. He heard none and sipped the tea after it had steeped long enough.

He looked at his phone on the coffee table right before it lit up. He looked at it. An unknown number had texted him.

Mark unlocked his phone and looked at the text. "Are you alright?" the sender asked.

"Who is this?" He replied. Almost instantly there was a response, "Hawk. I'm using my ship's communications system."

Hawk is someone like Hero but more intergalactic. Mark glanced at the metal plate embedded on the ground. It was meant to protect him from anything not of this earth.

"Okay, so isn't your shield thing supposed to protect me from nonhumans?"

"Yes, but what's wrong?" She asked again.

"It's just nightmares." Mark replied. He didn't expect her to understand.

"You're involved with us. Ever since that attack, the walls you had built up inside you have broken down. Anything subconscious will affect you and may appear in real life. The barrier can protect others from getting in. But it can't protect you from your inner demons or whatever you are seeing in your dreams." She explained quickly. Another response came after, "I'm sorry you got involved."

"It was either that or dying," Mark replied before putting his phone down and drinking more tea. He opened the conversation again, "What do you mean by 'inner demons'?"

After a few moments she replied, "Its internal conflict. Everyone deals with it differently. Some people have one physical embodiment of something they've suppressed for too long or they have more than one. Either way, sleeping gets deadly until you can conquer it."

Mark read her text and breathed.

"I'll try to help from here for a moment," Hawk's last text said. The conversation disappeared from the phone and Mark put it down.

Mark heard a mug land on the counter. He turned to see another version of himself. A flicker of fear coursed through his blood.

This version turned around and showed himself with a white streak in his hair. "Hawk told me to help so I am." He explained while getting tea. He wore a black shirt with a light blue M on it. His white wings shifted behind him, "I am Light." He explained further and took off his dark sunglasses as he went to sit down in the chair near Mark. "I am opposite to the one in your nightmares."

"How are you here?" Mark asked, straightening up to face him.

Light put down the tea and looked at Mark. "I can appear in your reality while Dark appears in your subconscious. He's up to something and with that helper of his, which I think you've seen…" He trailed off for a moment. "He's even more powerful than I remember."

"I guess I'll ask you since she can't tell me," Mark started. "What is happening to me?"

Light looked past Mark into the dark hallway then at Mark, "You are dealing with every alter ego you have ever created. Dark wants power over you or your body or something so he woke the rest of us up. When we didn't join him he pushed us farther from you." Light looked passed Mark again and nodded. "Hero is on your side and so is Tim." He explained as Tim wiggled from Mark's arm and lit up. The same sidekick in his nightmare was standing behind couch now.

Hero joined Tim, "We are up against two alter egos that have embodied everything you aren't."

"But I didn't create you," Mark said to Hero.

"Like I said before, 'I am the hero within you'." Hero explained, "You may not have created me, but through everything you stand for, for the good in this world, for every follower on YouTube, for the money you raise for charity, for the fans you get to meet and everything else. I have been created.

"Okay, well I did create Wilfred." Mark said, turning to Light.

"We don't talk about Wilfred." Light replied quickly.

"He's a goofball and can't do anything serious." Tim said.

"So what do we do?" Mark asked putting down the tea he can no longer finish.

"We," Light gestured to Hero and Tim, "protect you from them."

Hero jumped and turned to the shadow of the hallway. Tim faced it as well. Light stood up and displayed his white wings.

"We have names, you know." Dark said as he walked out of the shadows. His white shirt clung to his pale skin, revealing the teeth on his stomach. He stuck his hand in the pocket of his black pants and leaned back on the wall. At contact, black tendrils reached out. They didn't go far, but they were there.

"You see," another Mark appeared from the shadows, the same from the first nightmare. His voice was deep and demonic and outright scary. "Dark, here has a plan."

"And we will never join." Light said defensively.

"We don't need you to join." The other laughed. His red pupils landed on Mark.

Dark laughed and stepped forward. "We want to make a bet."

"What kind of bet?" Hero demanded.

"You and me fight," Dark gestured to Hero. "And whoever wins, gains control of the body." The other nudged Dark, "Demon wants a part too." Dark looked at Light, "You two will engage in battle. The outcome of yours will not affect the outcome of ours."

"What if we don't want to fight?" Tim asked.

Dark moved to him and towered over his short self. "You don't have a choice, Tiny." Dark's eyes pierced right through Tim. Hero put his arm under Dark and shoved him away. Dark stumbled back and looked shocked. Hero was glaring at Dark.

"Are you angry?" Dark taunted with a smile.

Light raised his fists and punched the air towards Dark. A fireball flew through the air and Dark easily dodged it. "Do we look angry?"

Demon looked at Dark, "Light isn't very powerful right now. When the sun comes up, that's when…"

"That's when I get to actually kick your ass." Light said, stepping onto the couch and onto the floor on the other side. He didn't look away from Demon.

Dark backed away, "Let's go," Demon growled and Dark detoured through the kitchen. He grabbed a box of Cheese-Its and turned to Mark. "You need to eat more." He said as he ripped the top off and pulled up his shirt. He walked into the darkness feeding his stomach mouth. When the crunching stopped Mark picked up his tea again with shaky hands.

Pre dawn peered over the horizon and a bit of faded light got into the room.

"We are with you till the end, Mark." Light said to him, wings lowering and fire fading away.

Tim jumped over the couch and landed next to Mark.

Hero saluted and walked away with Light. "And don't be afraid to take a nap this afternoon."

Tim hugged Mark, Mark wrapped his arms around Tim and after a few moments, Mark felt the plushie in his arms again.

A wave of energy pulsed through the room and then stopped. He saw Hawk walk around the back of the couch and sit where Light was. She wore dark blue pants, short heels, and a dark blue top with buttons on the side like an Assassin's Creed jacket. The lighter shade vest had symbols on it Mark didn't recognize. Her hair was up in a tight pony tail and she looked at me in silence.

"So you can't help me?" Mark asked her.

"No, I can't. I told Light to talk to you because he's dealt with darkness before. He's a part of you and so are all the others, even the demon version of you. The demon version is probably left over from a rebellious phase you might have gone through when you were younger." She paused, "Locked away hatred for something long forgotten could have also formed that demon. Dark is a version of you that everyone has. Mine was different, I dealt with an actual demon and the emotion hate needed to be controlled at all times. My situation was different from yours. You have somehow created separate beings for your different versions."

Hawk's monologue was something Mark needed to hear but he wasn't listening so she stopped.

She looked at him intently. "Just tell me you can win this battle."

Mark looked at her and she saw the fear. "I don't know. I play horror games and they are embedded into the nightmares." he stopped, took a deep breath and continued, "I'll do my best."

"Good. We will know when it all goes down and will intervene if we find it necessary." Hawk said.

"When would it be necessary?"

"If you die or put other lives in danger." Hawk answered before she left. "Then we will intervene."


	3. Chapter 3

~"He who makes a beast of himself removes himself from the pain of being human." Dr. Samuel Johnson. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs ~

After Hawk left, Mark stayed where he was for many hours. He waited for anything to happen. His phone buzzed with a text. He looked at it. It was Wade. He didn't want to talk to his best friend about any of this and put his phone down.

"The best part of being me," Dark said really close to Mark's ear, making him jump. Mark looked around for him and Dark was levitating above him. "Is that I can appear whenever you do something that doesn't benefit Light."

Mark looked at Dark and reached for his phone.

"I'm already here so talking to your little friend isn't going to send me away." Dark taunted, rolling over in the air and floating away.

Mark told Wade everything and at first Wade didn't reply. A few minutes passed and Dark floated over again.

"There are some things you can't tell to even your closest of friends," Dark said with a horrible smile that faded into disgust when the phone signaled for a reply.

Wade told Mark that he could kick their asses. That he could do the right thing and be strong enough to win the battle.

Another reply said that Wade would fly out as soon as he could. The earliest would be tomorrow afternoon. All the flights to LA were booked until then but he would keep checking if something opened up.

Mark replied with a thank you and put his phone down.

"Okay, so you have one good friend." Dark remarked snidely before disappearing. "This will be over before he gets here." His voice echoed.

Mark closed his eyes and tried to sleep in the middle of the day as Light had told him to.

In this dream, he glided through a very stylized type of tunnel. When he reached the end, the room he was lead to showed four glass enclosed structures with different objects inside.

"This must be Scale," he smiled as he remembered playing it a long time ago. He walked right into the first one on his right and the darkness engulfed him. A moment later he was standing at the beginning of a path that was lined with tall walls. He glided forward and came to the platform he'd seen before and picked up the gun that was floating there. The words 'can scale' showed up on the display that faced him.

He aimed it at a tree and shrunk it down until it was tiny, "Ah! It's so cute!" he said as he glided over to the wall that blocked him in. His fascination with it was interrupted by laughter coming from the other side and then he nearly fell over as thundering footsteps shook the ground.

He heard his name and looked up to see Tim on top of the wall waving at him. Mark glided over to the flower by the base of the wall and stood on it. He scaled it up so he could stand on the top of the wall. Tim met him there and Mark saw Light's hair rise over the wall to reveal his smiling face.

Light put his hands on the wall, laughed and then kicked a hole in the base.

"That wasn't really necessary." Tim said to the top half of Light's face.

Mark smiled and couldn't form words to his excitement so he let out a squeal of happiness and pointed to Light's hand as it turned over on the wall. Mark jumped on and tried to balance as Tim got on.

Light stood up and held them out carefully. He walked towards the edge of this platform and had Mark look out across the landscape. There were platforms like this one all over the place, suspended in mid air and out into the horizon.

A rush of black and pink flew in front of Mark's face and slowed so he could see that it was Hero.

Hero stopped long enough to laugh, hold up the same gun Mark was holding with his right hand and call out, "I wish I had this power!" before diving back down towards the platform. He pulled up to barely fly over the grass on that platform and landed softly on the other side. He propped the gun onto his right shoulder and watched them.

Light got down on one knee and leaned over to put Mark and Tim on the platform Hero landed on. Hero greeted them and when Light stood back up, Hero used the gun to shrink Light back down to his normal size.

Mark watched Light open his wings and drop from the platform, face first in to the bright void below them. He looked over the edge as a blur of white rushed in front of him and into the air. Light spun and opened his wings. He looked down at them and landed calmly.

"Show off," Hero mumbled.

Mark smiled a bit, remembering something from a while ago. "She offered wings as part of the deal of joining her."

"And you accepted remember?" Light recalled.

"Yeah, but..." Mark continued.

"But you are a dormant agent. So? That doesn't stop you from using your powers in your dreams," Light pointed out as he hung his wings partially out so he could roll his shoulders. "That doesn't mean you can't use them, it's just something you can't do in the waking world."

Mark shrugged off the top part of the flannel shirt. Only the top of the faded zigzag shaped wing scars could be seen. Each scar was placed on his skin in the space between his spine and his sides, under his shoulder blades and was about eight inches long.

"Oh come on," Light sighed, reaching over to pull it off. "It works better like this."

"But you're wearing a shirt," Mark protested, wrapping his arms around himself.

"We all look like you. Literally," Hero said, looking Mark straight in the eye and flexed his biceps, showing them off as Mark had done a few times into his webcam. "It's okay."

Mark thought about it for a moment and straightened up, also flexing his biceps. His toned torso was awkwardly exposed but Mark shook away the feeling, "That was dumb wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Light as he walked behind Mark. He used his fingers to put pressure on both sides of his back, between his spine and his side, right on the scars.

Mark rolled his shoulders and flexed his back a little as he leaned over slightly.

"Haven't had your wings out since she showed you, huh?" Light asked.

"No I haven't," Mark replied as everyone else watched.

"It shouldn't hurt too much then," Light said as he pressed into his back muscles and jumped back.

A pair of wings rushed out of Mark's skin and held themselves up in the air, as if enjoying the freedom.

Mark moved them almost instinctively. They moved in front of him and Tim petted the feathers first. The pattern was red and black with a slight resemblance to his logo.

Light sat down, "I can show you how to fly later. Right now we need to discuss what's most likely going to happen once you wake up, Mark."

"Obviously fighting," Hero said as he joined Light. Tim sat next to him and Mark joined the circle. Letting his wings relax behind him. "But what's the strategy?"

"Dark already said who he wants to fight, but someone needs to protect Mark at all times." Light said. "Which any of us can do."

"He wants to fight us all." Hero stated.

"And he can't sit by the barrier thing, it won't help." Light processed. "I really don't like the idea of it, but we might have to ask him."

Hero let out a very exasperated sigh and got up. "Do you know how helpful he's gonna be? Not very. He can't concentrate on anything for more than a second. I swear he has the attention span of a squirrel." He crossed his arms over his chest and paced impatiently.

"I don't like the idea either. But what other option do we have?" Light continued, watching Hero pace.

Tim looked at Hero then Light, "Not once did Dark mention King Dark. Did you notice that?" He piped up.

"Probably because King Ego is too much competition for Dark," Light replied with a hint of sass in his voice.

"King Dark?" Mark asked as his mind went through all the alter egos of himself he'd seen on Tumblr.

"A slight alteration to Dark, King Dark represents your ego." Light explained in technicality then looked at Hero who had paused in his pacing, "The better option would be King Dark, he's powerful at least."

Light looked passed Mark and Hero joined in when a light flashed and someone in a dark red robe with intricate gold designs lining every edge of it stepped out onto the platform. His gold staff hit the platform pretty hard. His hand relaxed on it below the crystal orb embedded in the top.


	4. Chapter 4

"I was summoned?"

"Yes, I guess, King Dark." Light stated, standing up.

"He has wings now I see." His red eyes stood out against his slightly pale skin. He shifted his gold emblem on his chest and walked over. He walked properly and swiftly over to mark. He held out his hand which Mark reluctantly grabbed. King Dark helped him up and spun him around to look at the wings. "Very nice. They suit you."

Mark turned around and looked at King Dark. "Ego huh?"

"Your entire ego is reflected by me," King Dark explained. His slight smile disappeared when Light walked over to them.

"You are here to help, not spread your negativity to him." Light defended.

"Hey, I didn't do anything." He backed off, "You all know I didn't join them."

Light relaxed slightly, "Why didn't you join them?"

King Dark looked at him, "First of all, ego. But they want control and don't care what happens to Mark in the end, as long as one of them controls him."

He stopped when Hero stood beside them, "How do you know?"

"I've known their plan since they first started wanting to take control. Dark started it; Demon has the power to do so." King Dark continued and shrugged off his robe. He turned around. Four large gash marks shined in the light, a fifth faint one had almost healed.

Mark put his hand on King Dark's back, "They did that to you?"

King Dark nodded, "When I first decided to not take their side after hearing their plan, Demon did this."

Mark sighed and removed his hand, "So whose side are you on?"

King Dark turned around, "I'm on no one's side, but if I don't help, and they take over, I stop existing."

"How do you stop existing?" Light asked.

"If Mark dies, so do I. I represent a key emotion that he has." King Dark turned to Tim, "So will you," then to Light, "And you."

"What about me?" Hero asked.

"You will survive because you were created through a lot of other things that Mark has done. If Mark dies, only a part of you will disappear." King Dark explained as he turned around and picked up his staff again. "Again, they don't care what happens to Mark."

Tim walked over to Mark and hugged him.

Hero and Light looked at Mark then at each other, "So what do we do?"

"Win," King Dark stated bluntly as he put his robe back on. "I'll protect him to the best of my ability…"

"Wait…" Light interrupted. "What if the one we don't want here, shows up?"

"Who?" King Dark asked.

Hero turned to him, "Wilfred Warfstache," he said with a lot of disdain that a hero shouldn't have. It was almost a growl.

"Oh." He replied. "I get it. He's quite hilarious though,"

"Difficult to work with," Hero said.

"If he shows up, just let him be there." King Dark suggested. "If he gets in the way, then oh well."

Before anyone else could speak, an over powering voice echoed across the dream, "I'm tired of waiting."

"Good luck!" Hero shouted to the rest of them as elongated red and black claws ripped through the sky, grabbed him and he was pulled out. Tim shut his eyes and disappeared.

King Dark nodded to Mark as he stepped back into a circle of light.

Light was next to be grabbed.

Mark woke up with Demon half crouched over him and in the middle of throwing Light across the room. After letting Light go, he turned to Mark, smiled and stepped back.

King Dark appeared and stood behind Mark, putting his staff in front of the couch and glared at Demon.

"How are your scars doing?" He asked in a tainted voice, tilting his head to one side, smiling.

King Dark stood patiently and stepped to the side for Light's fire ball to fly past him. Demon dodged it but part of his side was burned. He glared at Light and charged at him.

King Dark stepped in front of Mark as the two flew through the wall and into the sky.

Light flew up into the sky and away from everything else. Demon followed and matched Light in speed. He ran on the air with a never ending layer of black tendrils. He used these tendrils to steer him in the air and keep him up there.

Dark looked at Hero and Tim. "My turn," he growled and charged at them. Hero shoved Tim to one side and dodged to the other. Dark crashed into the wall leaving an indent, turned around and threw a black tendril ball at Hero.

The impact threw him through the glass windows and outside with the others.

Dark turned to Tim, "Time to get rid of you once and for all," he yelled, gathering a smooth black ball in his hand and running at him.

King Dark ran from where he was and tried to intersect the hit but didn't get there in time. King had managed to drive his staff into Dark's stomach, cracking some of the teeth, but couldn't stop the impact. Dark's ball sailed from his hand and into Tim's neck. The ball held him to the wall, dangling and struggling.

"Tim!" Mark yelled from his half standing position by the couch.

"Mark, no!" King Dark yelled from his hold on Dark.

Mark's internal conflict gave Dark enough time to react to King Dark, throwing him off and running to the wall with claws extended.

"Dark!" Mark shouted angrily from his stance and glared at Dark.

Dark stopped mid step, mid strike and froze completely right before impact. Tim had looked away and closed his eyes. Dark struggled to even turn to Mark.

"Don't. You. Dare." Mark's glare pierced right through Dark's eyes.

"Your anger empowers me, you know." Dark said, trying to move. When he couldn't he looked at the hole in the wall. "Maybe it empowers him."

As he spoke, Hero shouted from outside with Light and were thrown down. Light braced for impact and caught Hero.

Mark put his hand on his side from the result of the impact and stood still. A rush of light swept through the hole in the wall and the walls themselves lit up like a Christmas tree, revealing intricate lines of light blue and green throughout the room.

The lights on the ceiling exploded, spraying electricity and glass everywhere. Wind rushed throughout the room, throwing Dark off balance as Mark closed his eyes and turned away.

"I know what I said, but I'm here anyway." Hawk yelled as the excitement settled down. Mark looked at her. Her hand was up, facing the wall in Dark's direction. She was holding Dark up from the ground with energy or something. She looked at Mark.

"You can't help us!" King Dark yelled at her as he stepped back over to Mark.

"I know how to suppress the darkness within." She curled her fingers into a fist and in a smooth, swift motion, she waved her hand to the side and Dark flew into the wall and stayed where he landed. He rolled onto his side and glared at Hawk.

"But how will you help him?" King Dark asked.

"By keeping Mark alive!" She yelled before walking over to where Dark fell.

"That's my job!" King Dark yelled after her.

"You know what I mean!" She shouted back then yelled in effort to pick him up, walk over to the hole in the wall and throw him out of the building. She turned her face from them.

Moments later Hawk turned back to King Dark, smiling, and had black eyes tinted with green and red. Green added to her strength and red added to her overall power. "I stopped seeing his future and had to intervene," she said in a half growling voice. The colors laced around her skin as she walked.

Mark saw the colors emanate off her as she walked to the hole in the wall.

"She's a good ally," King Dark said as they watched her walk onto the air outside, look up and spring into the air to join the others.

Mark grabbed his stomach, screamed in pain and fell to the floor. A moment later Demon fell from the sky.

King Dark helped Mark up and walked him over to the hole in the wall, shielding Mark. Hero was fighting Demon with Light's help and Dark fought Hawk.

He looked back at Tim who had fallen unconscious by where Dark dropped him.

"Why did that hurt?" Mark asked softly as he stood on his own. He jerked to the side when Hero punched Demon in the side. He looked around to find Hawk.

She was facing Dark but he was in a different outfit. His red eyes stood out against the now green outfit.

"That's actually a really cool outfit," King Dark said. "Especially the gold horns on the top."

"He looks like Loki," Mark grunted. He sat on the ground and waited. All he could do was watch.

Mark watched Demon get back up into the sky and aim for Hawk in a counter attack. She dodged it easily and slammed her fist into his back, pushing him to the ground again. Mark lurched forward and was caught by King Dark.

"This can get really bad really fast." King Dark commented from his crouched position. He threw up his arm to shield them from the incoming wave of energy from the rebound attack from Dark. King Dark watched as the pulsing lights on the wall moved to where the flying stray black tendrils were projected to land then killed them before they hit the wall. These lights then focused around the hole in the wall, still pulsing.

Hero grabbed Light's arm and spun him around. Light slammed his legs into Dark's neck, throwing him close to the wall of the building. Mark felt the impact in both his neck and his legs. Dark recovered quickly and raised his staff to Light's chest.

Light stopped his attack, lowered his arm and looked at the tip of the staff near his chest over his dark glasses. The staff glowed blue and soon faded into black. Light took off his sunglasses and looked at Mark in regrettable, sad silence

"Time to end this once and for all!" Dark shouted and shoved the staff into Light's chest before Hero could deflect the staff. Hawk looked down at Mark and watched as her plan began to fail.

Mark and Light screamed in pain. Mark's scream echoed from the room and out into the sky. The staff had been shoved through his chest and out of his back. Light concentrated long enough to grab the staff and couldn't let go as its electro-shock reaction hurt him.

Mark was on his knees on the floor, chest pushed out towards the fight, head back. Pain, the only thing he could feel as his mouth hung open in silent screams of pain. King Dark tried to help but was unsure of what he could do. He could only watch in sadness as he saw his own hands begin to fade as he reached for Mark.

"King Dark!" Tim yelled as he recovered from Dark's attack and slowly reacted to everything. He got over to Mark and held him gently. Tim watched King Dark fade away with his bright blue eyes. King Dark kept looking at Tim until darkness engulfed him, taking him from this world.

"One down!" Dark said as he took a deep breath in and jerked the staff out of Light's torso, causing Mark to scream again and fall into Tim's arms. Light fell out of the sky and into unconsciousness. Hero caught him and looked up at Dark.

Hawk was distracted by Mark and didn't react in time for Demon's movements. He got away from her and dropped from the sky. She watched him angle himself for the crippled and nearly unconscious Mark.

Tim held onto mark as he lay on the floor and looked at his chest. There was no damage to him but he knew Mark had felt it. Mark's hand found Tim's and just let it all out. Tim held Mark's hand with both of his and cried in fear and sadness and clutched onto Mark's hand like it was the end.

Hawk dove for Mark with such speed that the energy she emanated pierced through the air and threw Demon off course. In the moment of passing him, she grabbed him, spun him around and threw him away from Mark. She landed on the floor next to Mark's feet and in one swooping motion she pulled Tim away from Mark.

"Mark!" Tim yelled as their hands separated, still reaching for each other.

Mark cried out for Tim then curled up in pain. Dark had kicked Light in the stomach and watched Mark react.

The sunny day had slowly turned dark with storm clouds. It was an ominous atmosphere.

Demon stood on his tendrils outside the hole in the wall. Dark held back Hero who was holding onto Light. Hawk held Tim and shielded him. Demon looked at Hawk. She felt his gaze but didn't look at him. That would put all of their lives in even more danger.

Hawk knew.

She always knew.

She knows the way of demons.

She knows demons always get their prey.

Always.

In a moment of debate and hesitation, Hawk decided that she couldn't stick to protocol any more. She turned to Mark and kept Tim from watching. She kept her eyes on Mark and he watched her. Hawk looked up at Demon as he stepped into the room.

He walked over to Mark and stood by his torso. Mark couldn't move.

Demon tilted his head to the side slowly, "Maybe one day you won't disappoint your fans."

Mark put his hands on his head and tried to resist the voice getting louder inside his head. Demon kept talking. He said things that reflected his fears. Each statement made Demon stronger. Each statement hurt Mark. And Mark knew he couldn't fight forever.

"You will never amount to anything in this world." He lowered himself to Mark's face.

"Your life is pointless." Demon growled into his ear.

"You fans will never appreciate you." He pulled away Mark's hands that barely resisted.

"You will let them down from this day forward," Demon sneered with the cruelest of smiles.

He grabbed Mark's face and his red pupils looked into Mark's brown eyes. Hawk watched as Mark's jaw fell open and a single tear fell from the corner of his eye.

"And you will never," Demon got closer, feeling the defeat from Mark's soul, "Make people happy ever again." His eyes turned all black, as did Mark's.

Hawk turned away. She couldn't watch. She didn't have to. She felt everything. She knows what it's like to be taken over by a demon. The pain, the burning, the takeover, can't help yourself, can't control it, can't do anything. She covered Tim's eyes to make sure he couldn't watch.

Demon surrounded them with a cocoon of black tendrils.

Hawk felt Demon's hand touch Mark's chest, she felt his convulsions as he receded into the back of his own mind. She felt his futile resistance from a much stronger essence of himself.

Demon started laughing, but not with his voice. The tendrils started to unwind and go back to Demon. Demon lifted his arms, flexed his hands, put them on the ground and got up.

Hawk looked at the human who was no longer there. She watched the darkness flow from him as he turned around.

Demon turned to what was clanging around then ran out to the living room.

This version of Mark was wearing a pink mustache, a striped suit and was very energetic. He stood in the middle of the room, fists on his hips and stuck out his chest. "Hey everybody…"

Demon waved his hand and let out a faint laugh. As quickly as he had arrived, Wilfred Warfstache had left the scene, not of his own doing.

Hero had lowered to see the whole thing. Light had regained consciousness enough to see what had just happened.

"Mark…" Hero whispered and attracted Demon's attention.

Demon started laughing and looked at Dark. He smiled, "I win."


	5. Chapter 5

~"You either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" ~ Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight.~

POV: First Person: Hawk

(Because the author writes better in Hawk's first person point of view)

I turned around and looked down at Tim. The air moved around us slowly as Dark entered the room. The two started talking and I had to gather my thoughts for my next move.

It had been years since I last felt this concentration of darkness in one being. My job was to protect Mark. That's why I was allowed to be here. My superiors didn't want me to intervene but I reminded them of my status in this universe and, after some hesitation, told me that it was my call.

I specialize, at the moment, in retrieving lost souls.

I'm supposed to be here.

I looked down at Tim who had begun sobbing some time ago. I held onto his shoulders with one arm and his waist with the other. His head pressed into my shoulder. I took him with me as I stood up. I stood him next to me and held on.

I turned around to see Hero and Light sitting on the wall next to the hole in the wall.

I blinked slowly to try to track Mark's soul. It was faint but still there. Somewhere in Mark's mind that Demon can't go.

My eyes focused on Demon's face and he glanced over.

"Welcome to the new beginning," he called over to me with his stretched smile.

I guess my all black eyes were still there. I always get used to them and forget that they are active.

"Why do you still hold onto the small one?" He asked, pointing at Tim.

I looked at him and didn't move. Instead I altered my voice to be more demonic, like back in the good old days. "Thought you needed a companion," I said with a smile, revealing my demonic tinted fangs. I tilted my head slightly as I spoke then walked over to them.

Dark looked at me confused, "Are you one of us?" he asked. "Or one of them?" he gestured to the now conscious Light who glared at us all. I knew he was trying to formulate a plan to rescue Tim from me.

Tim started resisting me as we got closer so I picked him up, put him over my shoulder and continued. "What do you think?" I asked as I stood near them.

"One of us," Demon said through Mark's voice. I could barely sense him.

I smiled at Demon and let the darkness engulf my skin. I felt it branch from my eyes, across my face and down my neck, eventually covering, mostly, all of me.

"One of us," I replied, letting my lips part and show off my fangs again in my smile.

Dark looked at Demon, "I like her."

Demon looked at Dark quickly, "I saw her first!"

Dark gasped and said, "She threw me into a wall when she got here! I saw her first!"

Demon pushed Dark's shoulder, "She actually looked at me when she hit me!"

Dark put his hand on my black shoulder. I let the fire within me surface to my skin at contact. I simply glanced down at his hand as it caught fire. He pulled it away and he looked at me. He held his hand and looked at Demon.

"See?" Demon smiled. "She even works with fire."

I looked at Demon plainly, "Hell-fire actually."

"How do you work with hell-fire?" Dark asked, "That's impossible, even for a villain."

"Maybe for you," I said slightly annoyed. I looked at him intensely with my black eyes, "But I've got friends on the other side." I lowered my voice and let a demonic heat surround my words.

Demon shot a glance at dark. "I don't think she's joking…"

I smiled and looked quickly at Demon. "Being human isn't the best for you," I turned to him slowly, letting my smile fade. "I can sense your fear."

"I'm not human!" He protested.

As he spoke, my sharp claws elongated on the hand closest to him and I swiped them across his skin. He yelped in surprise and held his face. His blood seeped through his fingers.

"You are bleeding. Yes, you are human." I told him as he put down his hand. I watched the wound heal quickly. I hope my drop of Healing that I encased in venom can survive his new bloodstream.

"So? That's what happens when we take over humans." He argued.

"Don't argue with me." I was getting annoyed by the fact that he was arguing with me. I looked at his pathetic excuse for a side kick and laughed softly to myself.

"You aren't in charge!" Dark shouted at me.

His tall stature did not intimidate me as much as he thought it did. I grabbed his gold and green collar, lifted him up and threw him into the wall. Tim scurried away while we weren't able to keep him there. "Never. Fight. My. Status." I growled, walking over to him as he got up.

He waved his staff at me, in attempt to blow me away but I didn't move. Though Demon was blown back a step.

"I'm the strongest. I'm in charge." I turned to Demon. "Got a problem with that?"

He quickly shook his head and looked down. I helped Dark back up and took his staff. Its electro-shock security field was affecting me, but I played it off.

"There's supposed to be a security field on that…" Dark mumbled.

"Oh there is," I said in response, pointing it at him. _And it hurts like hell._

"Wait what?" Dark exclaimed, putting his hands up. "You are one of us."

Demon looked at Dark and then put his hand on his own throat. "Don't even try it."

"You die too, I hope you know." I said to him. I didn't even need to look at what he was doing. I already knew he tried the 'I'll kill him if you do that' villain trick. It doesn't work with me.

Demon hesitated. "She's lying!" Dark yelled.

"Am I now?" I asked, keeping my composure and turned to Demon. "If I'm lying, why don't you go ahead with your plan?"

"What? No! He can't do that! We'll all die!" Light yelled from where he sat. His voice was weak but still intelligent.

"We all take risks don't we?" I asked. "That's what King Dark did when he was here isn't it?" I turned to Dark and put the staff on his chest.

Demon lunged for me and in one swift move I swung around and without hesitation sliced his very human chest open. The gash stretched from the contact point on his torso and went diagonally up across his chest Mark's body collapsed to the floor without any attempt to prevent it. He rolled onto his back and faced me with his blood red eyes and they locked onto mine.

"What have you done?!" He shouted as the body started to fail him.

"I have freed you from your mortal form, Demon." I snapped. "Isn't that what all demons want? Freedom?"

He shut his mouth, glanced at Dark and closed his eyes. Mark's chest stopped moving and Demon clawed his way out of Mark's body. He crouched by the body, looked at both of us in angered silence then flew out into the dark sky. Mark's head fell to one side.

I looked out and saw that the darkening clouds had continued to get darker. I aimed the staff at Dark before he could move.

Tim shouted at Light and Hero to get up. I turned to him. "They'll be okay, Tim."

Dark glared at me. "You…"

I looked at him and smiled.

"You… you ruined everything!" He charged at me. I dodged his attack and tapped the staff on his back. He faded away.

The next few moments of silence were broken by Tim sitting down next to Mark and crying.

I breathed calmly and felt the darkness covering my skin recede back to where it came from. My eyes slowly went back to normal and the darkness shading everything had gone away.

I kneeled down next to Tim, "Demon can't go far." I said softly, putting my arm on his back.

He jolted and looked at me, "So you were never on their side?"

"Never, but someone had to fake it." I said and turned to the body. "I need to be where you are at…"

He scooted out of my way and I sat by the side of the body. I peeled the blood soaked ripped shirt off of his torso and put both my hands on his chest.

I closed my eyes and listened for anything. I searched for any sign of the spark of his soul.

I opened my eyes and moved my hands over the gash. I breathed out and let the leaf tattoo on my shoulder guide my healing powers down my arm and into my hands. The green glow emanated down into the gash and started its healing process.

The gash wasn't too deep but it had sliced up his abdominals pretty bad. They healed quickly and the skin healed just as fast.

"That's a lot easier when I'm not bogged down by the stress of keeping intergalactic peace for a few minutes," I whispered. Tim looked at Mark's torso. The new pink skin slowly faded into the skin color that matched the rest of him.

"You did that?" He asked.

"Yes, it's my talent," I explained. "And another thing I can do," I let my eyes turn green, "is locate a lost soul."

Tim backed off and I looked at his chest. I felt again for any sign of a spark.

It was there this time.

I could also see the effects of Demon on his skin. Impressions from the black tendrils left a faded black tint to his skin and reached out from where Demon had taken Mark over. I put my hand on Mark's neck and supported his head to face the ceiling. His lifeless face was hard to look at.

"I have to bring him back," I whispered with an undeniable tone of certainty. It needed to happen, there was no question about it, but as an Intergalactic Hero… it's my job to keep humans safe in scenarios like this.

My grip tightened on his neck and I injected some of my healing powers into his skin to work around the grooves. They were harder to heal. Demonic remnants were always harder to heal.

I felt a spark of life a moment later.

At least he wasn't a lost soul. "I can sense Mark there. I'll have to go get him though."

"I'll stay here." Tim said.

"You couldn't go with me even if you wanted to." I commented. I sat down by his head, crossed my legs and concentrated. I put my hands on his chest and felt myself go into Mark's subconscious.


	6. Chapter 6

Bio, well, the rest of it since its relevant here:

A dormant agent, as it was mentioned, is someone that's been successfully inducted into the ISF but chooses to be inactive and resume their life on earth. These agents can recall that they have powers but can't use them. They are usually under the protection of the ISF and remain under it until they want to be an active agent or until they are called to duty. Hawk is currently an Active Agent in the ISF.

Scotty is the nickname for the agent on the bridge of HQ who is in charge of communications and some of the major technologies involved, like the hyper-beam transfer and the ship's warp speed. It's a running joke that Hawk calls him Scotty and Scotty calls her Kirk. It's a nice one line joke that kind of keeps them from getting overly serious about things involving the two.

**POV**: First person, Hawk

I looked around in the bright light that had greeted me in his subconscious. The light faded enough so I could see that I was standing in a room.

It was a bedroom. Maybe a memory...

I watched the man sitting in the seat in front of a computer play an amnesia game. His voice wasn't as deep as Mark's but he spoke like Mark.

"That's me…" I heard from behind me. I turned to see Mark sitting on the bed, watching the one on the computer. "…From my early YouTube days."

I glanced around and plucked the small glowing drop of hope that I had gotten into his system moments ago. I put it in one of the pockets on the front of my vest.

I looked at both Marks and nodded, "So this is what Demon couldn't change."

Mark smiled and handed me the framed paper in his hands. "That's the engineering degree I had earned in college." He took it from me and put it back. "I don't really use it now."

I looked at him in his purest form. A person's soul shows their purest form. Mark sat on the bed, nearly naked, only shrouded in a ribbon of light. It covered his upper legs and mid section, draped over his chest onto his back and kept things covered.

"For such an attractive human, you sure do keep yourself covered." I commented.

He looked at me then at the ribbon of light. "Yeah, I do. It goes back to a long time ago." He moved so I could sit next to him. "But mostly just for the sake of not showing off on camera, even though the fan girls love it."

"Your fans will love you for the rest of eternity." I said quietly. "You've changed too many lives for anything different to happen." I turned to him. "Your significance on this planet is so immense that the ISF didn't immediately induct you. They want to and they will as soon as you are ready to leave this all behind or when we need you to become an active member."

"Being in space was really hard to turn down." Mark smiled at his back from the past. He turned to me, "So you're there all the time?"

"Most of the time, yes," I answered. "It's an incredible but scary place. It's hostile and cold but can be warm and welcoming too." I took out my 'phone'. It's really my space phone. It's mostly alien technology. It's also one I built myself in my early Apprenticeship days. I opened it and showed him pictures I've taken of various things I've seen in the last six Earth months.

I let him scroll through the space cloud pictures, my friends in the agency posing for different things, and various other things that have happened. "There's a lot to do, you know." I went to the picture of the vehicle lab and experiment room. "This is all about constructing better space travel vehicles for small groups. I usually make minor changes on the prototype before letting them build more…" I trailed off. He had flipped to the next picture and was staring at my panoramic picture of a gas cloud I'd passed on a test run.

I took the phone and tapped a few features and allowed the 3D visual of the picture expand throughout the room. "This is what I've mapped in the last six years." The visual lit up a few different planets, "Those lights show me which ones have agreed to the Peace Treaty Agreement." Lines crisscrossed around the room. "And that's the path I was on last month." I watched as a yellow line bounced from planet to planet, grazing Earth then out into space. "It was busy."

The map encompassed the room and drowned out everything else there. Mark stood up and walked around tapping on the realistic gas clouds, watching them react then reform. I put my phone down on the floor and walked around with him.

"This is what it's like all the time?" He asked as he looked at me. His smiling face was illuminated by a small star near him. He looked up and reached for the gas cloud. He let his fingers dance around it, playing with it.

I nodded and walked up behind him. I traced my fingers down his back; making him shudder and making his wings emerge. I held them up and they moved through the projection. I moved in front of him. He moved them around the gas clouds and solar systems.

"This too," I said, moving mine out of my skin. They were larger than his.

The projection changed as I waved my arm. Space swirled around us and then changed to the sky and he smiled, "Do I get to learn how to fly now?"

I shook my head, "It'll be a lot more fun in the waking world."

"True," He said as he dropped his wings. "But I thought I died."

"If you come back with me now, you'll be fine." I said, holding out my hand. The sky disappeared as my phone folded back up and jumped into my other hand. I put it away and waited for his reaction in the very bright room.

A small image of the younger Mark appeared and he watched himself play Amnesia: The Dark Descent. He looked at me. "Return to what you love doing, Mark," The light in the room engulfed us as his soul soared. It was reflected in his smile as he took my hand.

The light engulfed us completely as I pulled him in for a hug. He held onto me as long as he could.

When I opened my eyes I was sitting on the floor and Mark had started breathing again. He opened his eyes and looked up at me.

"Well done, Mark." I said softly, pushing on his back to help him sit up.

Light and Hero had been able to get up and moved towards us. Light helped up Mark and I stood with them.

Tim hugged Hero then Mark and didn't let go.

"What about Demon?" Light asked.

I held up my hand. It had a seal mark on it, "put this on him and it'll seal him away into Mark and it won't let him leave or use much of his power." The seal resembled a bunch of small circles on a triangle in a bigger circle with short squiggles outlining the whole thing.

Light held up his hand and put it to mine. The seal transferred. He looked at his hand, "Cool."

"And Dark?" Hero asked.

"Dark will follow Demon." I answered. I felt a wave of energy from my pocket and glanced at my phone. "I gotta take this." I walked away from them and held up my phone to my ear. "Scotty what's wrong?" I refuse to call him by his real name.

"Distress signal from Alpha Nine! They're in trouble! The signal is broken and that's all we could decipher!" He shouted in a fake Scottish accent. I could tell he was running from screen to screen as he yelled at me through Communications.

"Alright," I said in my ISF Chief voice, "Put me on intercom." A few moments later Scotty gave me the all clear. "Code red! Code red! Distress signal from Alpha Nine! Phoenix sixty-seven crew get ready to launch immediately!"

I put my phone down and looked at them. "I've gotta go."

Mark threw his arms around me and thanked me. I hugged back quickly and pushed him away. I shook hands with Light and Hero then looked down at Tim, "Be brave." I smiled.

I looked back at Mark then jumped back into a portal that put me on the bridge of the Phoenix Sixty-Seven. I watched Mark as the portal closed and sat in my Captain's chair.

"Ready to launch!" The pilot shouted and typed in the coordinates into the ship's GPS then moved the ship out into space, hit hyper jump and I closed my eyes.

**POV: Mark (third person)**

Mark watched the portal close and he turned to everyone. Before he could speak his phone lit up and then there was a knock on the door.

"That couldn't be Wade already," Mark said as he answered the door.

Wade towered over Mark and walked in the door. "Are you okay?"

"I am now…" He said as he looked down at his blood soaked pants. His flannel was still intact.

"What happened?" Wade asked.

"It's a long story," Mark lead Wade into the living room and sat down. He picked up his still standing but cold tea and held it. He glanced around for Light and Hero but they were gone.

"What are you looking for?" Wade asked.

"I'll get started on that story," He said, picking up his Tiny Box Tim plushie and clutched it.

**POV: Hawk (first person)**

I watched Mark start to tell his best friend the story of what just happened.

I smiled, "Well done, Mark." I commented to myself as he leaned forward. The scars of the wings were there. "Oops," I whispered with a smile. One day.

"Hawk!" The captain shouted.

I turned off the screen and watched the front window screen. "Guns out! Shields up!" I shouted as I stood up. A half ring of metal moved out of the floor with me. My shoes sank into the floor as its base braced me, I was free to move but the backlash wouldn't affect me. It had two gun handles attached; each operated one on the outside of the Phoenix. Scotty gave me full visual on the main screen and I smiled. I once again flew into a raging space battle of chaos.

~For Mark Fischbach who has impacted over four million lives at least in the last two years and many, many more to come. You are an amazing person and I am proud to be a Markiplite (part of the Ticklescrote army… Is that still a thing?). Please keep being who you are, keep making awesome and entertaining videos and never change for anyone but yourself. ~ Angela Smith


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